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Callimachus · Hymn to Apollo §1-56

Signs of Apollo's Epiphany and Praise of His Domains

Passage 1 of 2 · Greek

Summary

Describes the epiphany of Apollo, encouraging youths to sing and dance, while praising the god's eternal youth, golden attire, and various domains including prophecy, healing, pastoral care, and city-founding.

§1οἷον ὁ τὠπόλλωνος ἐσείσατο δάφνινος ὅρπηξ,
How the laurel branch of Apollo shook!
§2οἷα δʼ ὅλον τὸ μέλαθρον·
And how the whole temple shook!
ἑκάς, ἑκὰς ὅστις ἀλιτρός.
Far, far away, whoever is a sinner.
§3καὶ δή που τὰ θύρετρα καλῷ ποδὶ Φοῖβος ἀράσσει·
And see, Phoebus knocks at the door with his beautiful foot.
§4οὐχ ὁράᾳς;
Do you not see?
ἐπένευσεν ὁ Δήλιος ἡδύ τι φοῖνιξ §5ἐξαπίνης, ὁ δὲ κύκνος ἐν ἠέρι καλὸν ἀείδει.
The Delian palm-tree has nodded sweetly, suddenly, and the swan sings beautifully in the air.
§6αὐτοὶ νῦν κατοχῆες ἀνακλίνεσθε πυλάων, §7αὐταὶ δὲ κληῖδες·
Of yourselves now, bars of the gates, fall back, and keys yourselves.
ὁ γὰρ θεὸς οὐκέτι μακρήν·
For the god is no longer far away.
§8οἱ δὲ νέοι μολπήν τε καὶ ἐς χορὸν ἐντύνεσθε.
And you, youths, prepare yourselves for the song and the dance.
§9ὡπόλλων οὐ παντὶ φαείνεται, ἀλλʼ ὅ τις ἐσθλός·
Apollo does not appear to everyone, but only to him who is good.
§10ὅς μιν ἴδῃ, μέγας οὗτος, ὃς οὐκ ἴδε, λιτὸς ἐκεῖνος.
He who sees him is great, he who has not seen him is humble.
§11ὀψόμεθʼ, ὦ Ἑκάεργε, καὶ ἐσσόμεθʼ οὔποτε λιτοί.
We shall see you, Far-shooter, and we shall never be humble.
§12μήτε σιωπηλὴν κίθαριν μήτʼ ἄψοφον ἴχνος §13τοῦ Φοίβου τοὺς παῖδας ἔχειν ἐπιδημήσαντος, §14εἰ τελέειν μέλλουσι γάμον πολιήν τε κερεῖσθαι, §15ἑστήξειν δὲ τὸ τεῖχος ἐπʼ ἀρχαίοισι θεμέθλοις.
Let the youths not keep a silent lyre nor a noiseless step while Phoebus is visiting, if they intend to complete their marriage and shear their grey hair, and if the wall is to stand on its ancient foundations.
§16ἠγασάμην τοὺς παῖδας, ἐπεὶ χέλυς οὐκέτʼ ἀεργός.
I admire the youths, since the lyre is no longer idle.
§17εὐφημεῖτʼ ἀίοντες ἐπʼ Ἀπόλλωνος ἀοιδῇ.
Keep silence, listening to the song of Apollo.
§18εὐφημεῖ καὶ πόντος, ὅτε κλείουσιν ἀοιδοὶ §19ἢ κίθαριν ἢ τόξα, Λυκωρέος ἔντεα Φοίβου.
Even the sea is silent when singers celebrate either the lyre or the bow, the weapons of Phoebus of Lycoreia.
§20οὐδὲ Θέτις Ἀχιλῆα κινύρεται αἴλινα μήτηρ, §21ὁππόθʼ ἱὴ παιῆον ἱὴ παιῆον ἀκούσῃ. §22καὶ μὲν ὁ δακρυόεις ἀναβάλλεται ἄλγεα πέτρος, §23ὅστις ἐνὶ Φρυγίῃ διερὸς λίθος ἐστήρικται, §24μάρμαρον ἀντὶ γυναικὸς ὀιζυρόν τι χανούσης.
Nor does the mourning mother Thetis lament Achilles when she hears "Hië Paieon, Hië Paieon." And even the weeping stone postpones its grief, the wet rock which is fixed in Phrygia, a sorrowful marble instead of a woman gaping in grief.
§25ἱὴ ἱὴ φθέγγεσθε· κακὸν μακάρεσσιν ἐρίζειν.
Cry "Hië, Hië!" It is an evil thing to strive with the blessed gods.
§26ὃς μάχεται μακάρεσσιν, ἐμῷ βασιλῆι μάχοιτο· §27ὅστις ἐμῷ βασιλῆι, καὶ Ἀπόλλωνι μάχοιτο.
He who fights with the blessed gods would fight with my king; he who fights with my king would fight with Apollo too.
§28τὸν χορὸν ὡπόλλων, ὅ τι οἱ κατὰ θυμὸν ἀείδει, §29τιμήσει· δύναται γάρ, ἐπεὶ Διὶ δεξιὸς ἧσται.
Apollo will honor the chorus, whatever it sings to his heart's desire; for he has the power, since he sits at the right hand of Zeus.
§30οὐδʼ ὁ χορὸς τὸν Φοῖβον ἐφʼ ἓν μόνον ἦμαρ ἀείσει, §31ἔστι γὰρ εὔυμνος·
Nor will the chorus sing of Phoebus for only one day, for he is rich in hymns.
τίς ἂν οὐ ῥέα Φοῖβον ἀείδοι;
Who would not easily sing of Phoebus?
§32χρύσεα τὠπόλλωνι τό τʼ. ἐνδυτὸν ἥ τʼ ἐπιπορπὶς §33ἥ τε λύρη τό τʼ ἄεμμα τὸ Λύκτιον ἥ τε φαρέτρη, §34χρύσεα καὶ τὰ πέδιλα· πολύχρυσος γὰρ Ἀπόλλων.
Golden are Apollo's cloak and clasp, his lyre, his Lyctian bow, and his quiver; golden also are his sandals, for Apollo is rich in gold.
§35καὶ δὲ πολυκτέανος· Πυθῶνί κε τεκμήραιο.
And he is rich in possessions; you may estimate this from Pytho.
§36καὶ μὲν ἀεὶ καλὸς καὶ ἀεὶ νέος· οὔποτε Θοίβου §37θηλείῃσʼ οὐδʼ ὅσσον ἐπὶ χνόος ἦλθε παρειαῖς.
And indeed he is always beautiful and always young; never on Phoebus' soft cheeks has there come even the slightest down.
§38αἱ δὲ κόμαι θυόεντα πέδῳ λείβουσιν ἔλαια· §39οὐ λίπος Ἀπόλλωνος ἀποοτάζουσιν ἔθειραι, §40ἀλλʼ αὐτὴν πανάκειαν·
His locks distill fragrant oils upon the ground; not mere fat drips from the tresses of Apollo, but Panacea itself.
ἐν ἄστεϊ δʼ ᾧ κεν ἐκεῖναι §41πρῶκες ἔραζε πέσωσιν ἀκήρια πάντʼ ἐγένοντο.
In whatever city those dews fall to the earth, all things become free from harm.
§42τέχνῃ δʼ ἀμφιλαφὴς οὔ τις τόσον ὅσσον Ἀπόλλων· §43κεῖνος ὀιστευτὴν ἔλαχʼ ἀνέρα, κεῖνος ἀοιδὸν §44(Φοίβῳ γὰρ καὶ τόξον ἐπιτρέπεται καὶ ἀοιδή), §45κείνου δὲ θριαὶ καὶ μάντιες·
In art no one is so abundant as Apollo; he possesses the archer, he possesses the singer (for to Phoebus both the bow and the song are entrusted), and his are the fates and the prophets.
ἐκ δέ νυ Φοίβου §46ἰητροὶ δεδάασιν ἀνάβλησιν θανάτοιο.
And from Phoebus physicians have learned the delay of death.
§47Φοῖβον καὶ Νόμιον κικλήσκομεν ἐξέτι κείνου, §48ἐξότʼ ἐπʼ Ἀμφρυσσῷ ζευγίτιδας ἔτρεφεν ἵππους §49ἠιθέου ὑπʼ ἔρωτι κεκαυμένος Ἀδμήτοιο.
We call Phoebus also "Nomios" (Pastoral) ever since that time, since by the Amphryssus he nourished the yoked horses, fired with love for the youth Admetus.
§50ῥεῖά κε βουβόσιον τελέθοι πλέον, οὐδέ κεν αἶγες §51δεύοιντο βρεφέων ἐπιμηλάδες ᾗδιν Ἀπόλλων §52βοσκομένῃσʼ ὀφθαλμὸν ἐπήγαγεν·
Easily would the herd of cattle multiply, nor would the goats lack offspring, wherever Apollo casts his eye upon them as they graze.
οὐδʼ ἀγάλακτες §53οἴιες οὐδʼ ἄκυθοι, πᾶσαι δέ κεν εἶεν ὕπαρνοι, §54ἡ δέ κε μουνοτόκος διδυμητόκος αἶψα γένοιτο.
Nor would there be milkless sheep, nor barren ones, but all would have lambs under them, and she that bore one would quickly become a mother of twins.
§55Φοίβῳ δʼ ἑσπόμενοι πόλιας διεμετρήσαντο §56ἄνθρωποι· Φοῖβος γὰρ ἀεὶ πολίεσσι φιληδεῖ
Following Phoebus, men measured out cities; for Phoebus always delights in the founding of cities.

Notes

  1. §1οἷον — An adverbial accusative neuter singular introducing an exclamatory clause, meaning "how...!".
  2. §13ἔχειν — An infinitive used for command or wish (infinitive of command), taking the accusative "τοὺς παῖδας" as its subject, indicating that the youths must not keep the lyre silent.
  3. §24χανούσης — Genitive feminine singular of the second aorist active participle of "χαίνω" (to gape, open the mouth), vividly describing Niobe who, even after being turned into stone, continues to weep with her mouth wide open.
  4. §41ἐγένοντο — A gnomic aorist, which combined with "κεν" in the relative clause, expresses a universal truth or recurring fact ("whenever ... they become ...").
  5. §51ᾗδιν — Interpreted either as a contraction/dialectal form of "ᾗ δ᾽ ἵν᾽" ("and there where") or a variant of "ᾗ δὴ" ("verily where"). Based on the relative adverb "ᾗ" (where), it designates the location where Apollo's favor is bestowed.

Cite this passage

Callimachus, Hymn to Apollo §1-56. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0533.tlg016.humanitext-grc3:1-56

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